The synod was a highly discussed topic between the pope and journalists on his return flight from Mongolia.
Pope Francis expressed some of his concerns for the event that will begin in October with the theme of reflecting on what synodality is.
"In the synod there is no place for ideology, it is another dynamic," Pope Francis said. "Synod is dialogue, among the baptized, among members of the church, about the life of the church, about dialogue with the world."
The pope hopes that the climate of spirituality will be maintained both inside and outside the synod. And that both participants and journalists keep this in mind.
"This is not a TV program where we talk about everything. No. It is a religious moment," he said. "There is a moment of religious interchange. In the synod talks, they will speak three or four minutes each; three (talks) and then there are three or four minutes of silence for prayer. Then three more and prayer. Without this spirit of prayer there is no synodality, it is politics, it is parliamentarianism," he said.
The pope recalled that the synod is not something new but rather historic, because it has always been practiced in the Eastern Church. In the Latin Rite, it was Pope Paul VI who created the Synod of Bishops more than 50 years ago.